Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^aPontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^bHerod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high priesthood of ^aAnnas and ^bCaiaphas, ^cthe word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all ^athe district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,“^aTHE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD,MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.

7 So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^aYou brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^ado not begin to say ¹to yourselves, ‘^bWe have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so ^aevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^aThen what shall we do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to ^ashare with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And some ^atax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “¹Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^aaccuse anyone falsely, and ^bbe content with your wages.”

15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were ¹wondering in their hearts about John, ^aas to whether he was ²the Christ, 16 ^aJohn answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you ¹with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His ^awinnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with ^bunquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. 19 But when ^aHerod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of ^bHerodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which ^cHerod had done, 20 Herod also added this to them all: ^ahe locked John up in prison.

21 ^aNow when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was ^bpraying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “^aYou are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

23 ^aWhen He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, ¹as was supposed, the son of ^bJoseph, ²the son of ³Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of ¹Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^athe son of Zerubbabel, the son of ¹Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of ¹Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of ¹Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 ^athe son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of ¹Salmon, the son of ²Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of ¹Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, ^athe son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of ¹Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of ²Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, ^athe son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^aPontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^bHerod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of ^aAnnas and ^bCaiaphas, ^cthe word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all ^athe district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,“^aTHE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE ¹LORD,MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.

7 So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^aYou brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^ado not begin to say ¹to yourselves, ‘^bWe have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^aevery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^aThen what should we do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two ¹tunics is to ^ashare with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And ^atax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 And he said to them, “¹Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^aextort anyone, and ^bbe content with your wages.”

15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John, ^aas to whether he was the ¹Christ, 16 ^aJohn answered, saying to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His ^awinnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with ^bunquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the gospel to the people. 19 But when ^aHerod the tetrarch was reproved by him because of ^bHerodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which ^cHerod had done, 20 Herod also added this to them all: ^ahe locked John up in prison.

21 ^aNow it happened that when all the people were being baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was ^bpraying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “^aYou are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

23 ^aWhen He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, ¹as was supposed,

Now in the fifteenth year of Emperor ¹Tiberius Caesar’s reign—when ^aPontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^bHerod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene— 2 in the high ¹priesthood of ^aAnnas and ^2bCaiaphas his son-in-law, ^cthe word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all ^athe country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin; 4 as it is written and forever remains written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,“^aTHE VOICE OF ONE SHOUTING IN THE WILDERNESS,‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD,¹MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.

7 So he began saying to the crowds who were coming out to be baptized by him, “^aYou brood of ¹vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath of God that is to come? 8 Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of and consistent with your repentance that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness. And ^ado not even begin to say to yourselves as a defense, ‘^bWe have Abraham for our father and so our heritage assures us of salvation’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient. Matt 3:9 9 Even now the axe of God’s judgment is swinging toward the root of the trees; so ^aevery tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 The crowds asked him, “^aThen what are we to do?” 11 And John replied, “The man who has two tunics is to ^ashare with him who has none; and he who has food is to do the same.” 12 Even ^asome tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 And he told them, “Collect no more than the fixed amount you have been ordered to collect.” 14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not ¹extort money from anyone ^aor harass or blackmail anyone, and ^bbe satisfied with your wages.”

15 Now the people were in a state of expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, ^aas to whether he was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) . 16 ^aJohn answered them all by saying, “As for me, I baptize you only ¹with water; but One who is mightier more powerful, more noble than I is coming, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals even as His slave. He will baptize you who truly repent with the Holy Spirit and you who remain unrepentant with ²fire. Matt 3:11 17 His ^1awinnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom) ; but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with ^bunquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other appeals and various admonitions John preached the good news (gospel) to the people. 19 But when ^aHerod Antipas the tetrarch was repeatedly reprimanded and convicted by John’s disapproval for having ^1bHerodias, his brother’s wife as his own, and for all the wicked things that ^cHerod had done, Matt 14:3; Mark 6:17 20 he also added this to them all: ^ahe locked up John in prison.

21 ^aNow when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was ^bpraying, the visible heaven was opened, Matt 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; John 1:32 22 and the ¹Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “^aYou are My Son, My Beloved, in You I am well-pleased and delighted!” Ps 2:7; Is 42:1

23 ^aWhen He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of ^bJoseph, the son by marriage of Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^athe son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 ^athe son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, ^athe son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, ^athe son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. Gen 5:3-32; 11:10-26; Ruth 4:18-22; 1+@Chr 1:1-4, 24-28; 2:1-15